GRUB 411:

• KINGSWOOD 121 W 10th St; NYC; (212) 645-0018
• TYPE: Australian (I have no idea what that means)
• PRICE: $$$
• SeoulDiva Tips: Nice place for people-watching.  Bar scene is poppin’ and the bartenders are Aussie — twice as nice!
• SeoulDiva Says: Reliable eaterie.  No culinary jedi mind tricks going on here–just simple, straight food…with truffle oil!   ♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

FULL REVIEW:
I’ve had many a tasty meal at Kingswood, but if you were to ask me what constitutes “Australian food”, I couldn’t tell ya.  All I know is this:
Kingswood has many food options infused with truffle oil or truffle butter.  Truffles, FTW!
This West Village eaterie offers a friendly, familiar, “distressed-but-chic” decor.  The front half is their bar, the back half the dining area.  The bar is manned by handsome Aussie men (do they come any other way, really?), and is usually rimmed with fawning females, hoping to catch their eye.   Over the years, however, the crowd has changed from veritably fashionable…to business dinner-y.
As I mentioned in the 411 section, there’s no fanciness with the food here.  But, if you are truffle-obsessed, they have PLENTY on the menu to satiate your every truffle fantasy.
For a full menu, please click here.
Here’s a plate-by-plate of my meal with @arterbery the other night  (apologies in advance for the crap photos…my digi-cam ran out of juice, so this is a composite of my iPhone, and her Storm 2):

• SPICED BABY BRUSSEL SPROUTS  with bacon, lime, maple syrup and fried egg. The combo of the lime & maple syrup intrigued me, not to mention the fact that I love brussels sprouts and fried eggs.  The flavor combination was unexpectedly nice — the lime gave a refreshing tang that cut through the smokiness of the bacon.  Could have done without the maple syrup.  Maybe they were hoping it would marry better with the bacon (like how you pour syrup on your breakfast bacon?), but in conjunction with the lime, it felt out of place.  But if I had to be brutally honest: brussels sprouts were a bit overcooked.  SeoulDiva Says: ♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• WILD MUSHROOM RISOTTO:  with shaved parmesan and truffle butter. As far as the Appetizer Round, @arterbery won hands-down!  Of course, I am obsessed with all things Truffle, so clearly this dish, made with Truffle BUTTER was a no-brainer.  The dish was slightly salty, but packed with flavor and the mushrooms on the plate were nicely varied.  SeoulDiva Says: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• RUBY’S BRONTE BURGER:  with cheddar, sweet chili sauce, truffle mayo and fries. A delicious burger indeed.  Several WINS: bun is grilled and a ciabatta-grade quality…the greens served are arugula leaves…cheese is perfectly melted.  Only one head-scratch moment: Sweet Chili Sauce?  Again, this seems like a futile attempt at culinary creativity.  Sweet Chili Sauce is usually an Asian poultry condiment, so WTH is it doing on a burger at an Australian joint?  hm.  BUT, the Truffle Mayo makes up for this faux pas — it’s absolutely the best condiment I’ve ever tasted.  SeoulDiva Says: ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• MACARONI AND CHEESE: with truffle oil. The key to this dish lies in the last 3 words, “with truffle oil.”  Truffle oil was delicious — enough that it properly flavored the entire dish, but not an overpowering stench.  I could have done with a few more sharper cheeses in the sauce, but it wasn’t too bland (perhaps I just have a saltier palette).  SeoulDiva Says: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• APPLE CRUMBLE: with vanilla ice cream. Not knowing what the difference between a crumble and a crisp is — I would say this dish is neither.  A more accurate description: baked apple slices with vanilla ice cream.  Nonetheless, it was tasty.  Not overdone, not complicated; clean, unadulterated apple.  SeoulDiva Says: ♥♥♥½ / ♥♥♥♥♥

• BANANA PUDDING with caramel, fresh bananas, walnuts and biscuit crumble. In the Dessert Round, I definitely won.  The only downside was that the caramel made this dessert a little too sweet, but overall, it was a tremendous success.  Imagine, if you will, a parfait of banana pudding, banana slices, caramel and heavenly biscuit crumble.  SeoulDiva Says:  ♥♥♥♥ / ♥♥♥♥♥